But I wish I still had my second drum kit, which my parents bought for me in 1966, when I was in sixth grade. I’m not sure what model it was, but it was a Premier 4-piece with a really shallow mounted tom (I’m going to guess it was a 12” or 13” x 5” or 6”) wrapped in a mother-of-pearl finish. They bought the kit while the family was on vacation in Italy, and we carted it back to Turkey (where my father worked in the U.S. embassy) on the Orient Express, believe it or not.

The other kit I wish I had was a Sonor 5-piece (again, I’m not sure what the model was) that I bought at Frank’s Drum Shop while I was studying at Chicago Musical College in 1974. I walked in and told the salesman that I wanted a new kit that sounded like the vintage Ludwig set in the percussion department a CMC, and he took me right over to the Sonor set. It was wrapped in a solid blue finish, and I just remember that I had never played a set of drums in my life that sounded better — really resonant and round, pretty jazzy, actually. It’s crazy, but I used all the money my father had given me to get through the semester (you know — food, rent, bills, etc.) to buy the kit. It took a while for him to forgive me for that one!

I sold a Pearl World Series Birch/ Mahogany 5 piece kit that I had purchased in 1989. Amazing sounding kit! I sold it to my church around 7 years ago. Man I loved that kit! :( But I still own my first kit. It is a Ruther 5 piece. Probably around 40 or so years old now.
My dad gave it to me for Christmas when I turned 13.

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A good drummer will sound good on anything. A Bad drummer will sound bad on anything.

Nice. Reuther, by the way, was one of a handful of brands (including Whitehall) made by Pearl in Japan long before Pearl was a household name. I don’t think they’re considered highly collectible, but I’d hang onto them for sentimentality’s sake. Have a good weekend, my friend.

hurray the resurrection of a week long dying feed! I still have an old Ruether(sp) my uncle gave me when i started playing. I bought a pearl snare and completely forgot about the Reuther(sp). about a month ago i found it in my attic and im in the process of restoring it to its former glory. 8-ply maple. the wrap was crap so i ripped it of and sanded the wood a little bit. i have a celtic knotwork pattern in the works that i’ll woodburn on and finish with a nice stain. new hardware and re-routed bearing edges are in the works too. I can’t wait to have it finished!

I wish I still owned my first drum kit - Ludwig White Marine Pearl Super Classic with stainless steel snare. My dad bought it for my 15th birthday. I would still own it had it not been stolen off stage at a gig!

BTW: Rev D - Love your signature quote - So true!

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hurray the resurrection of a week long dying feed! I still have an old Ruether(sp) my uncle gave me when i started playing. I bought a pearl snare and completely forgot about the Reuther(sp). about a month ago i found it in my attic and im in the process of restoring it to its former glory. 8-ply maple. the wrap was crap so i ripped it of and sanded the wood a little bit. i have a celtic knotwork pattern in the works that i’ll woodburn on and finish with a nice stain. new hardware and re-routed bearing edges are in the works too. I can’t wait to have it finished!

I would love to see pictures of that kit when you are done restoring it.

Signature

A good drummer will sound good on anything. A Bad drummer will sound bad on anything.

@ rev.d and David
when i get time to get some good pics ill put them up. the drum I’m restoring still need a little work and its only a snare not a full kit but when its all done its gonna look freakin beautiful!

My first kit was a four-piece Pearl with a blue-strata wrap finish. I imagine they were a basswood ply construction. Not the highest quality drums but for a beginner they worked. I traded them in on the set I dearly wish I still owned - Mid 70’s Ludwig Rock Duo in Oyster Blue wrap finish. Two 14” x 20” kicks, 8” x 12”, 9” x 13”, 16” x 16” toms and a 5 1/2” x 14” chrome Supraphonic snare.
Speed King pedals came with it. Sold that kit in ‘76 for $600 and I regret it to this day. Hope to find a used kit like this someday and
get to play them again! Recently bought a 6-piece Ludwig Epic series kit that fulfills my Ludwig needs for a while, sure do miss that Rock Duo though!

I was in sixth grade when I got my first kit. It kit was a no name gold sparkle. The kick had probably a 20 or 22” batter head, then tapered down to what would have been a 16 or 18 ” reso, if it had one. We weren’t too well off at the time. My mom worked with a lady who’s husband ran a local music store. They gave us the kit, with the understanding that when I could afford a better one, we’d pass it on to some one else in need.

In high school, after mowing enough lawns & bussing enough tables, I bought a Tama & gave the no name to a younger kid who’s parents weren’t to well off. No regrets on giving that one away, but I’d like to know where it’s at now.

I have two of them I wish I still owned. The first one was a Ludwig “Sound Projector II”. 10-12-13-14 rack toms and a 16” floor tom with 22x16 bass and a 6.5” deep supraphonic snare. It was smoke Vistalite. I sold it when I went on the road due to the constant weather changes from the bus to the clubs.

The second would be my last one. Ludwig Natural Maple 13-14-15-16 rack toms 18” floor tom - 24x16 bass. The toms were all double headed and had a great tone and resonance to them I had a 8” deep 9ply Pearl snare. All the hardware was Ludwig Hercules and the bass pedal was an original DW 5000 - 2 double pedal. I bought the set in 1985 from a friend who hardly ever played it. I had to sell it in 2005 after losing my job and needing the money for house payments and food for the family.

My first kit, somewhere around 1967 or 68 was a Bollero 4 piece kit in red sparkle wrap with a Pearl steel snare. I think the Bollero name was another one of those that Pearl used back then but I’m not 100% sure. The kit I wish I still owned is a first generation Gretsch Catalina Birch fusion kit. I bought it used in 2005, it was about 1 year old or so. I sold it not knowing that Gretsch had discontinued that line of drums as my plan was to buy a new larger kit. They’ve brought back the birch line but it isn’t even close to the original 8mm shell models.

I wish I still owned every kit (instrument) that ever came through my hands for one reason or another.
Here’s a question for you that pertains to this. What brands did you own and in what order.
For me it is Ludwig, Tama, Ludwig.